Daily Stats
Start: 7:30 AM - MM 232
Finish 10:00 AM - MM 218 Grafton Illinois
Time: 2:30 hours
Daily dist: 14 miles
Total dist: 5740 miles
Companions: Jason Cummings
Weather: Overcast, low 70’s, SE wind 5-10 mph
Notes: Yeee ha!
Start: 7:30 AM - MM 232
Finish 10:00 AM - MM 218 Grafton Illinois
Time: 2:30 hours
Daily dist: 14 miles
Total dist: 5740 miles
Companions: Jason Cummings
Weather: Overcast, low 70’s, SE wind 5-10 mph
Notes: Yeee ha!
It was about a year ago that I was in San Diego nervously trying to get my head around all the logistics for a trip I’d dreamt about for years. The mere fact that the idea of the trip had morphed into very real planning seemed like a dream itself. My mind was in a fog of what-ifs and unknowns as well as the sadness that comes with leaving friends behind when you head off in a new direction in life. I’d been kayak camping before, but only for a week or so, and never on something of this magnitude. Five thousand miles seemed like an almost insurmountable mountain to climb. It would be at least two hundred days of paddling to figure out. The obstacles, campsites, water stops, re-supply points… It was too much to take in all at once, so I decided not to. Instead I started out with a broad view of where the trip would take me. Then I took it one month, one week, one day, one hour, one minute, and finally one stroke at a time.
That’s how I did it
5740 miles… one stroke at a time.
5740 miles… one stroke at a time.
In the planning stage I realized how, instead of vanishing into the wilderness, this trip would encircle the core of our country passing along the edges of some of our most populated cities. With the proximity to civilization, I realized that this trip could be shared with others all along the way. I thought that, if people could follow along, this trip might serve as a reminder of what adventures await us close to home. I also believed that this trip (accessible - in parts - to almost everyone) could motivate people to get out and explore their local waters on their own. For those reasons I decided this was a trip that should be shared.
So it was that I brought along ten pounds of computer, charger, spare batteries and cords. So it was, as well, that on so many nights when I was tired and sore and so desperately just wanted to get to bed, that I stayed up and fought my heavy eye lids to get the blog post up for that day. I knew the daily reports and computer could put me in touch with people along the way. But I never could have anticipated how many people would answer my call to share in this adventure with me. It was a tremendous effort to keep the blog going day after day. But for every person that opened their home to me, joined me on the water, sent a word of encouragement via. E-mail, or told me they were enjoying following along, it was all worth it.
So it was that I brought along ten pounds of computer, charger, spare batteries and cords. So it was, as well, that on so many nights when I was tired and sore and so desperately just wanted to get to bed, that I stayed up and fought my heavy eye lids to get the blog post up for that day. I knew the daily reports and computer could put me in touch with people along the way. But I never could have anticipated how many people would answer my call to share in this adventure with me. It was a tremendous effort to keep the blog going day after day. But for every person that opened their home to me, joined me on the water, sent a word of encouragement via. E-mail, or told me they were enjoying following along, it was all worth it.
Two hundred eighty days and 5740 miles since it began on a crisp early winter day last December, I have shared a daily account of this trip and my life. With a bumpy start, and many ups and downs, it has been an experience of a lifetime. I am so glad I could bring you along for the ride. Today I am pleased to report that I have paddled the last stroke into Grafton Illinois.
The loop is complete.
It is done.
It is done.
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